While driving a vehicle, the tires are prone to damage from nails and other objects on the roadway. A flat tire must be replaced with a properly inflated tire before travel can resume regardless of the time of day. During daylight hours, changing a tire on the shoulder of a roadway is merely inconvenient, but during nighttime hours it is treacherous for at least two reasons. The first reason is that at night it is difficult to see clearly enough to ensure that the tire is replaced properly, and it usually takes longer to replace the tire than during daylight. The second reason is that it is more difficult for other drivers to see at night and thereby avoid a collision with a vehicle or person close to the roadway. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that it would be highly desirable to have a light for a driver to use to illuminate the wheel area when changing a tire at night.
There are flashlights with support stands, lanterns, plug-in lights with support stands, and other lighting devices that can be used to illuminate the wheel area of a vehicle when changing a tire a night. To be useful, a driver must have the device in the vehicle with the batteries charged. The devices are not standard, or even optional, equipment for the vehicle; so, a driver must acquire and install the device to have it ready for use in an emergency. It is therefore desirable to have a lighting device that is part of the vehicle and always ready for use.